


One Thousand Eggs and a Fish Pond

by Chelonie



Category: Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
Genre: 1000 Eggs, AI clones, Gen, The Incident with the Fish Pond, ancillary clones, r2sid 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:30:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14367033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chelonie/pseuds/Chelonie
Summary: Gem of Sphene leaves the Two Systems for repairs, leaving 15 ancillaries behind. Only one of the ancillaries is over 3 years old...





	One Thousand Eggs and a Fish Pond

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. At the time of this fic, Ancillary Cloning has been going on for three years. Gem of Sphene has been decanting 2 clones every 3 months, and each of them has a colour as designation. (Sphene only agreed to give them designations at all because the Creche staff began calling them Egg One and Egg Two...)  
> 2\. For the purposes of this fic, 'Gem of Sphene' is the Ship, 'Sphene' is the adult ancillary, and the ancillary clones are referred to by their colour names.  
> 3\. The Ancillary Clones are being raised on Station, where there is room for a creche.  
> 4\. It's not necessary to read my other fics to follow this one, but this is a prequel to The Importance of Names (and Pronouns) since someone wanted to hear about Teal and the fishpond  
> 5\. I love comments :)

 

 _Gem of Sphene's_ newest segments (Salmon and Lavender) were just decanted when xe announced xe was leaving. "My gate functionality is repaired, so I can get to a proper dry dock in the Gerentate and get the kind of extensive repairs I've needed for three thousand years."

"Are you taking anyone with you?" Breq asked.

"I have a crew of sorts. Mostly technicians and engineers, who have agreed to go." Sphene said.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I assume you are leaving the children behind."

"Yes, but I'm also leaving this segment." The segment that had been living in the Undergarden, without a tracker, was still the one that lived on Athoek Station. "I'm sure we'll get along fine."

* * *

 

About twenty minutes after _Gem of Sphene_ gated out, Sphene discovered that, although xe hated the 1000 Egg song with a passion usually reserved for the Usurper, xyr three year old segments found the repetition fun, and even the segments who were too young to sing enjoyed hearing it. Without the Ship mind there to make xyr disapproval clear, the adult segment was outnumbered. By 14 minds to one.

"Peep peep peep! Peep peep peep!"

"Someone kill me now," Sphene whined six days later. The singing hadn't stopped.

"Breq's been singing it too," Seivarden said darkly. "Every time I think I've got her onto something different, she wanders across one of your brood, and they ask her to sing with them."

"Crack, crack, crack, a little chick is born! Peep, peep, peep! Peep, peep, peep! Nine thousand two hundred sixteen eggs all nice and warm!" Breq sang.

"WHAT?! **_NINE_** thousand?!!!!"

"Oh, believe me, if we ever find out who suggested to your Colour Crew that there were actually _ten_ thousand eggs...." Seivarden said. "Airlock. No pressure suit."

Kalr Five poured the tea without the least twitch in her ancillary blank expression, but _Mercy of Kalr_ saw the inner smirk.

* * *

 

"I am the parent of record," Sphene explained to the creche manager. "And I do not want my... _children_ , if you will... singing that song. I do not need a reason why."

The manager, an Ychana with braided hair and ungloved hands, sighed. "We'll do our best, Citizen. But we aren't _making_ them sing."

"Can't you make them _not_ sing?" Sphene demanded.

"You share a mind with them, and you can't do that!" she protested.

"I share a mind with them that is slowly... cracking... like an egg..." Sphene said.

"Peep, peep, peep, a little chick..." the manager sang under her breath. "Mother of Lagori... you see? They've got us all doing it. What can we do?"

* * *

 

"What can I do?" Sphene moaned later at dinner. Xe could hear Green singing in his head, though thankfully Yellow was asleep.

"How old are they?" Horticulturalist Basnaaid asked.

"There are 14 of them, ranging in age from a few weeks to 3 years old." Citizen Uran said. Her assignment was in the Ancillary Creche, and she knew the children better than anyone other than Sphene xyrself.

"We have a demonstration in the Gardens designed for ages 5-10. It introduces early ecology, and lets them see the interaction between plants and animals. Maybe it could distract them." Basnaaid suggested. "Right now, we have worms, caterpillars, frogs, ducks..."

"No ducks!" Sphene said.

"Right, right," Basnaaid said. "We wouldn't talk about ducks. Or birds. But I'll need a few days to adjust the curriculum for younger children, and you'll need more chaperones."

"I can help you with the curriculum, Horticulturalist," Uran volunteered. "The ancillary children are very intelligent, but they lack a lot of practical experience. And I'll chaperone, of course."

"And of _course_ I'll help, Sphene!" Tisarwat said. She imagined meeting Piat at the gardens, each of them with a newborn in arms, cooing over the babies, and maybe... would it lead to discussing what their own might look like? Piat was so beautiful, just like her mother, and her daughters were going to be so lovely....

"How many chaperones do we need?" Sphene asked.

"At least one adult per two children," Basnaaid said.

"Shall I ask Fleet Captain?" Tisarwat asked.

"NO! The idea is to get rid of that accursed song! I don't want her anywhere near them!" Sphene said.

"Oh don't worry, Sphene, I'll find enough volunteers for you," Tisarwat said. "Just leave it to me!"

* * *

 

Whether by charm, browbeating, or calling in favours, Tisarwat was as good as her word, and the day of the field trip arrived with a collection of adults gathered around the entrance to the Ancillary Creche. The manager and staff brought the children out, each dressed in the colour of the name, and began placing coloured stickers on the adults. "Each of you have two coloured stickers. Those are the children you are responsible for. Keep your eyes on them at all times."

Tisarwat was disappointed that it all happened too fast for her to request the newborns. The two she had been given charge of were about ten months old – Teal and Pink. Each of the pairs came with a twin stroller of the right size, and after a bit of finagling to get the children put in place, the little expedition was off.

The children began staring in every direction, wide-eyed in amazement, as they entered the Gardens. Bo Nine had to struggle with the oldest, Green and Yellow, who immediately wanted out of their stroller, and their shoes and gloves, so they could play in the grass. Kalr Eight took Blue and Red in a different direction before letting them also out of their stroller – this time in a wooded copse with a leafy ground covering. Tisarwat followed the path of the stream.

She found Piat near the Independence Memorial, a circular area surrounded by benches and flowers where you could speak the name of someone lost in the struggle against the Tyrant, and see that person's holograph, and any other information their family chose to include. Piat was tending the border of roses and fragrant herbs when she saw Tisarwat and her face brightened.

"Tisarwat! Hi! Oh! Whose babies are these? They're so cute!" Piat said, immediately crouching down to get a closer look.

"Citizen Piat, let me introduce you to Gem of Sphene Teal and Gem of Sphene Pink," Tisarwat said. "They can't speak much yet, but they do understand what you say to them."

"Are they supposed to be at Basnaaid's demonstration?" Piat said. "She said there were going to be ancillary babies there."

"Well... yes. I just wanted to drop by and see you first," Tisarwat said. "We still have another quarter of an hour before the demonstration starts. Can you take a break?" And Piat's smile made Tisarwat warm inside.

* * *

Tisarwat and Piat walked together through the Gardens, and Teal and Pink agreed with each other that this was a very pleasant place – much nicer than the creche playroom. They understood the words that Tisarwat and Piat were sharing, but they found most of it quite dull. They were talking about people that they either didn't know or didn't care about and sharing gossip that bored them. Until Piat asked, "Is it true that Translator Zeiat is on her way back? My mother said so."

"It's a Presger ship. We don't know if it's Zeiat or not," Tisarwat said. "It could be about the medical correctives, or it could be someone with news of the Conclave, so it's going to be important, no matter who it is."

Teal and Pink agreed that one of them should go and greet the Translator, while the other stayed to attend the demonstration. Pink was in the front of the stroller, and more visible, so they decided xe would stay. And while Tisarwat and Piat were murmuring quietly together, their gloved fingertips occasionally brushing together, as if by accident, Teal climbed out of xyr seat and made xyr escape.

The problem with being ten months old, Teal reflected, is that it takes so long to get anywhere. Xe felt like xe had been walking and crawling for hours (though xe knew it was actually 5.8 minutes) and there was still no sign of the exit. Instead, there was a lake. Teal could try and walk/crawl around it, but it would surely be faster to swim across.

* * *

The missing child wasn't discovered until Tisarwat got to Basnaaid's demonstration, and the creche manager went pale. "There's only one child in your stroller!"

"What? No!" Tisarwat exclaimed. "Pink, where did Teal go?"

Pink said, "Zei." And pointed in the direction xe thought the Translator might be coming from.

"No, that's the sky. Where's Teal?"

"Zei."

"Station, where is Teal?"

"Teal is by the fishpond." Station said.

"Oh Amaat's Grace!" Tisarwat said. She took off running down the trail, with Uran and Sphene behind her.

When they reached sight of the pond, they could see Teal splashing facedown into the water, and moving arms and legs in what appeared to be a swimming motion.

"Is Teal swimming? I can't swim!" Tisarwat said, panicked. She had grown up on a Station, and most stations did not have enough water for swimming. Did the Tyrant know how to swim? She must! But if so, it wasn't an activity she had done often in her thousands of lifetimes, and she couldn't find a memory that would guide her. Meanwhile, Uran kicked off her shoes and went straight into the water after Teal. "Oh stars! Can Uran swim? Who authorized this unsafe structure?!"

"Children are the worst! The absolute worst!" Sphene sputtered as Uran emerged from the water with a wet toddler. Xe took Teal from Uran and brusquely thumped xyr back until the baby coughed up a prodigous amount of lake water, then started to cry. "You stupid stupid child, just because you remember _me_ swimming, doesn't mean _you_ can swim!"

"Sphene, are you crying?" Uran asked.

"Of course not!" Sphene lied. "The baby got me wet is all!"

* * *

 

In the aftermath of the Incident of the Fishpond, Sphene took Teal back to the creche, changed xyr into dry clothes, and rocked xyr to sleep, telling xyr stories about Zeiat and promising that Teal could meet her the next time she arrived in the Two Systems.

The other children eventually got to attend the ecology demonstration, though it started a little late. Playing with caterpillers and frogs and earthworms proved to be a huge hit with the 3 and under set, and everyone was careful not to mention ducks or eggs. Basnaaid even taught them a few new songs about plants and animals that were not as mind grating as the 1000 egg song.

* * *

 

 _What was in the fish pond?_ Pink asked later. _Did you see fish?_

 _I saw green and mud. Then I breathed water and it hurt. We can't swim till we're bigger._ Teal sent.

 _I held a caterpillar._ Pink volunteered.

_Can I share?_

Pink sent the memory across, and Teal felt the tickle of little feet across xyr hand and forearm.

Around Teal, xyr fellow ancillaries were sharing their memories of the Gardens. 

 

And Sphene relaxed for the first time in days. None of them were thinking of eggs.

 


End file.
